Bitcoin News: PayPal Competitor Stripe to Accept Bitcoin

by Christopher Freeburn | March 28, 2014 9:41 am

Merchants who use online payment processing service Stripe can now accept bitcoins[1].

[2]

Source: Flickr[3]

In an interview with Re/code, Stripe CEO Patrick Collison revealed the bitcoin news. Stripe has launched a private beta program for customers who want to include bitcoin payment options among their accepted payment methods.

Stripe competes with online payment giant PayPal, owned by auction website eBay (EBAY[4]). PayPal does not allow customers to make payments in bitcoins at present.

Collison told Re/code that Stripe didn’t know if bitcoin would retain its relevance over time, but hoped to boost online sales by increasing the number of available payment methods. He noted that many people around the world don’t have access to credit cards, but could purchase bitcoins.

Online data storage provider Tarsnap became Stripe’s first customer to exploit the new bitcoin payment option. Stripe will automatically calculate bitcoin conversions into local currency for its customers.

EBAY stock slipped slightly in Friday morning trading.

More Bitcoin News:

Bitcoin News: Mt. Gox CEO Accused of Hoarding ‘Stolen’ Coins[5]

Lord & Taylor Adds Bitcoin Payment Option[6]

Winklevoss Twins Book Space Trip With Bitcoin[7]

Endnotes:

can now accept bitcoins: http://recode.net/2014/03/27/stripe-merchants-will-soon-be-able-to-accept-bitcoin-payments/